ORDINANCE NO. 2025-151
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES AMENDING SECTION 3.16.085- “BIDDING PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS” OF CHAPTER 3.16-PURCHASING PROCEDURES,
OF THE GONZALES CITY CODE
WHEREAS, the City has, by resolution, chosen to perform certain public works projects subject to the procedures of the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (UPCCAA) (Public Contract Code 22000 et seq.), and has adopted City Code Section 3.16.085 by ordinance in accordance therewith; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to City Code Section 3.16.085, the City may perform public works projects less than or equal to $60,000 without going through any specific bidding process, may use an informal bidding process for public works projects less than or equal to $200,000, and must use formal bidding procedures for public works projects in excess of $200,000; and WHEREAS, pursuant to AB 2192, which became effective in January of 2025, provisions of the UPCCAA were amended to slightly broaden the definition of a “public project” and to increase the monetary thresholds applied to the three categories of public works contracts, and the City now wishes to amend its City Code to reflect these changes; and WHEREAS, City Staff and the Council continue to believe that the alternative bidding and award process established by the UPCCAA reduces both time and resources used in the administration of public works project contracts; and
WHEREAS, use of the UPCCAA contracting procedures will assist the City in achieving the best work at a fair price.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Gonzales as follows:
Section 1. All of the recitals set forth above are true and correct and incorporated herein as findings.
Section 2. The definition of “Public Project” as set forth in Subsection B of Section
3.16.085 Bidding Procedures for Public Construction Projects of Chapter 3.16 Purchasing Procedures of the Gonzales City Code, is amended as follows:
3.24.080- Bidding procedures for public works construction projects …
B. Definitions: The definitions employed in article 1 of chapter 2, part 3, division 2 of Public Contract Code section 22000 et seq., and their statutory successors shall govern the construction of this section.
Accordingly, a “public project” means any of the following:
1. Construction, reconstruction, erection, alteration, renovation, improvement, demolition, installation, and repair work involving any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.
2. Painting or repainting of any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.
3. In the case of a publicly owned utility system, “public project” shall include only the construction, erection, improvement, or repair of dams, reservoirs, power plants, and electrical transmission lines of two hundred thirty thousand (230,000) volts and higher.
A “public project” does not include maintenance work, such as:
1. Routine, recurring, and usual work for the preservation or protection of any publicly owned or publicly operated facility for its intended purposes.
2. Minor repainting.
3. Resurfacing of streets and highways at less than one inch (1”).
4. Landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning, planting, replacement of plants, and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems.
5. Work performed to keep, operate, and maintain publicly owned water, power, or waste disposal systems, including, but not limited to, dams, reservoirs, power plants, and electrical transmission lines of two hundred thirty thousand (230,000) volts and higher.
Section 3. The portions of Subsection C. of Section 3.16.085- “Bidding Procedures for Public Construction Projects” of Chapter 3.16- Purchasing Procedures, as set forth below, are hereby amended as follows:
C. Contract Letting Procedures: Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of the uniform public construction cost accounting act, Public Contract Code Section 22000 et seq., shall be controlling.
. . .
2. No Bidding Required: Public projects less than or equal to sixty seventy-five thousand dollars ($6075,000.00) may be performed by city staff, by force account with a contractor, by negotiated contract, or by use of a purchase order, pursuant to section 22032 of the Public Contract Code.
3. Informal Bids: The city shall follow the following informal bidding procedure for public projects of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars ($2200,000.00) or less, or those public projects as specified in either section 22032(b) or section 22020 of the Public Contract Code.
a. Notice: A notice inviting informal bids shall be sent to: 1) all contractors on the city’s list of qualified contractors for the category of work being bid, and 2) all construction trade journals as specified in section 22036 of the Public Contract Code and as named by the California uniform construction cost accounting commission.
(1) The mailing of notices to contractors and construction trade journal shall be completed not less than ten (10) calendar days before bids are due.
(2) The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms, how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids. b. Authority to Award Bid: The City Council shall authority to award informal contracts. The City Council may reject any or all bids presented and waive any irregularity or informality in such bids. The Contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder. If two or more bids are the same and the lowest, the City Council may accept the bid of its choice. is hereby delegated to the city manager unless In the event all informal bids received are in excess of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars ($2200,000.00), in which case the city council may, by passage of a resolution by a four-fifths (4/5) vote, award the contract at the amount set forth in section 22034(f) of the Public Contract Code or less to the lowest responsible bidder, if it determines that cost estimate of the responsible department head was reasonable.
If no bids are received, the project may be performed by city employees, by force account or negotiated contract without further complying with this section.
4. Formal Bids: The City shall follow the following formal bidding procedure for public projects greater than two hundred and twenty thousand dollars ($2200,000.00), or as specified in either Section 22032(b) or section 22020 of the Public Contract Code. . . .
Section 4 - Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the ordinance or the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
Section 5. CEQA Compliance. The adoption of this ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, based on 14 California Code of Regulations Section 15061(b)(3), where, as the case here, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment; and Section 15060(c) (3)- the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378.
Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days following a second reading hereof. Before the expiration of fifteen (15) days following passage, this Ordinance shall be published once with the names of the members of the City Council members voting for or against the ordinance in a newspaper of general circulation in Gonzales.
This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Gonzales on the 2
nd day of June, 2025, and was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the ___ day of June, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
ATTEST:
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk